


Snow's Ocean

by darkangelofglory



Category: Original Work
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-02-05
Updated: 2014-02-05
Packaged: 2018-01-11 07:37:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 938
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1170410
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/darkangelofglory/pseuds/darkangelofglory
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Home doesn't always feel like home, and sometimes even kids need a break.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Snow's Ocean

It was quiet, a soft hush lowered like a blanket over the path of a young boy, brought by the snow that gently fell around him.

The mid-afternoon sun did nothing against the drifts gathered on the side of the road by snow plows hours before, nor did it warm the air at all. The boy was bundled in a hand-me-down jacket and a knit hat hugged his head down past his ears. He wasn't by-the-fire warm, but it'd do.

_It'd do..._ the thought passed through his head, bringing a grimace to his face. It'd do. Everything in his life would do, _had_ to do. He was the youngest of six, an aimless kid barely in his teens, while his brother and sisters were in college on scholarships and pursuing their dreams. He got the short stick in everything, and he was used to it.

Today, though, as he walked under grey skies and through falling snow, it bothered him. It got under his skin and dug in its claws, itching at him. Everyone in his family's worn this jacket, these gloves, this hat, these boots. Getting something new for himself was almost a religious experience, something that was his and only his. He was used to being looked over and getting scolded for being underfoot. He stayed in his room usually because of it, reading or doing homework alone.

Alone.

He stopped, standing in the snow as he looked at the cloud bank above him, snowflakes catching in his eyelashes. A car drove by, tires casting wet salty slush onto the opposite sidewalk.

He didn't want to go home today.

But where could he go? After school activities weren't out yet, so the few friends he had were still busy. The library was forever away with two busy streets in between him and warm, book filled heaven, and in this weather he was hesitant to try crossing them. And outside-

Outside...

He dropped his gaze from the skies and brought it down to earth, looking to his side. His clothes weren't very waterproof, and he was still a ways from home, so playing in the snow was out. But the playground he passed every day wasn't all that coated in the stuff.

Playgrounds were for babies, he knew, elementary school kids only, not for middle schoolers like himself. And today he didn't give a damn, tossing his worn backpack under the winding fort where it was still dry and dashing to the swings with a grin.

He leaped from the swings at the tallest he'd dare to make them go, landing with a stumble and a triumphant hoot, arms raised in victory. He'd planted a flag on the top of Mount Jungle-gym, the tallest mountain in the world, and paid respects to the teammates who'd lost their lives making this possible. It wasn't until he was barking orders to his crew on the pirate ship SS Fort, waving a stick sword he'd broken off a tree to get them to go faster, that he was interrupted.

“What're you doing?”

The command got halted halfway through his insult of his first mate's mother, and he lowered the stick, looking down over the wall of the fort at the little girl who'd spoken up.

“...playing pirates.” His voice was quiet as embarrassment crept in. She was younger than him and caught him being a little kid, making him regret all of this. He pulled his hat back up since it was no longer an eyepatch.

“In the snow?” She frowned a little, and her brow furrowed under her own hat. It was a soft spring green, like everything else she wore. He felt a ting of jealousy at how new it all looked.

“...we're in the Arctic.”

“Oooh.” Confusion gave way to curiosity. “Why? Are you stealing seals?”

“No.” Now he frowned at such a ridiculous question. “We're good pirates. We're fighting the evil Shark Men who invaded the Snow Kingdom so we can save it.”

“Oh no!” He frowned further. She sounded so invested already. “Is the Snow King and Queen and Princess okay?”

“For now. Where's your mum?”

“Up there.” She pointed a mittened hand up the hill behind the playground, to a house perched on the crest. “Can I play?”

He stared down at her smiling face, debating the pros of having someone to play with verses the cons of his brothers finding him playing with a little girl. Loneliness won.

“Yeah. ...I'm Michael.”

Her face lit up with delight and she practically skipped to the ladder. “I'm Alice!” She paused with a hand and foot on the rungs, then looked back. “Permission to come aboard?”

A smile started its way onto his face, and he pulled his hat back down over his eye. “Aye, get yer mangy hide aboard before we leave ya to the fishes!”

She giggled, hauling herself up into the fort, then darted over to him, hands clenched in front of her. His smile vanished, replaced by a confused frown. What was she doing?

“Oh brave Captain Michael! I'm so glad I found you! I'm the maid from the Snow Castle, and the Princess sent me to guide you to the secret way in!”

His smile returned immediately, and he put a hand on her shoulder. “Yer brave, Alice, and I commend ye for risking death ta help us. D'ye hear that, lads!” he shouted at the rest of the empty fort, stick raised. “We have a way in!”

She cupped her hands around her mouth to muffle a holler for the imaginary crew, and he knew he'd made the right decision.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed it!


End file.
